Multi-layered software defined antenna and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A multi-layer software controlled antenna. A radiating patch is provided over a variable dielectric constant (VDC) plate. Variable DC potential is applied across the VDC plate to control the effective dielectric constant at various locations of the VDC plate. RF signal is coupled between a feed patch and a delay line, and the delay line couples the RF signal to the radiating patch. The radiating patch, VDC plate, delay line, and feed patch are each provided at a different layer of the antenna, so as to decouple the RF and DC signal paths. A controller executes a software program to thereby control the variable DC potential applied across the VDC plate, thereby controlling the operational characteristics of the antenna.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/438,303, filed on Jun. 11, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,505,280), whichis a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/654,643, filed on Jul. 19, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,326,205), whichclaims priority benefit from U.S. Provisional Application No.62/431,393, filed on Dec. 7, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/382,489, filed on Sep. 1, 2016, and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/382,506, filed on Sep. 1, 2016, and is also related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/421,388, filed on Jan. 31, 2017, the disclosuresof all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosed invention relates to radio-transmission and/or receptionantennas and methods for manufacturing such antennas and its associatedfeeding networks, be it microstrip, stripline or other.

2. Related Art

In a prior disclosure, the subject inventor has disclosed an antennathat utilizes variable dielectric constant to control thecharacteristics of the antenna, thereby forming a software definedantenna. Details about that antenna can be found in U.S. Pat. No.7,466,269, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. The antenna disclosed in the '269 patent proved to beoperational and easy to manufactured by simply forming the radiatingelements and feeding lines on top of an LCD screen. Therefore, furtherresearch has been done to further investigate different possibilities offabricating software defined antennas, as disclosed herein.

SUMMARY

The following summary is included in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects and features of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention and as such it isnot intended to particularly identify key or critical elements of theinvention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purposeis to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented below.

This disclosure provides various enhancements and advancement for thevariable dielectric constant antenna. Embodiments disclosed hereinprovide an improved antenna array and method for manufacturing such anantenna array.

Various disclosed embodiments provide an antenna having capacitivelycoupled feed line and other means to connect the feeding network to theradiating elements, such as vias and proximity coupling. The antennacomprises an insulating substrate; a conductive patch provided on topsurface of the insulating substrate; a ground plane provided on bottomsurface of the insulating substrate, the ground plane comprising anaperture therein, the aperture being registered to be aligned below theconductive patch; a feed line having terminative end thereof registeredto be aligned below the aperture, so as to capacitively transmit RFsignal to the conductive patch through the aperture. Otherconfigurations are feasible as well and the following example is set toprovide an optional solution and provide an insight on how to implementthe system most effectively.

Embodiments of the invention provide a software defined antenna by usinga variable dielectric to control a delay line, thereby generating aphase and/or frequency shift. The phase shift may be used, e.g., forspatial orientation of the antenna or for polarization control.Disclosed embodiments decouple the antenna and the corporate feed designso as to avoid signal interference between them. Disclosed embodimentsfurther decouple the RF and DC potentials. The various elements of theantenna, such as the radiator, the corporate feed, the variabledielectric, the phase shift control lines, etc., are provided indifferent layers of a multi-layered antenna design, thus decoupling thedesign and avoiding cross-talk.

Various disclosed features include a novel arrangement for coupling theRF signal between the radiating element and the feed line; anarrangement for controlling frequency and phase of the signal; amulti-layered antenna; and methods of manufacturing the antenna.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, exemplify the embodiments of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain andillustrate principles of the invention. The drawings are intended toillustrate major features of the exemplary embodiments in a diagrammaticmanner. The drawings are not intended to depict every feature of actualembodiments nor relative dimensions of the depicted elements, and arenot drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an antenna according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an antenna according to anotherembodiment, wherein each radiating element can be fed by two orthogonalfeed lines;

FIG. 3A illustrates a top view of a single radiating element, while FIG.3B illustrates a cross section of relevant sections of the antenna atthe location of the radiating element of FIG. 3A, according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross section of relevant sections of the antennaat the location of the radiating element according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross section of relevant sections of the antennaat the location of the radiating element according to another embodimentdesigned to provide enhanced bandwidth;

FIG. 6A illustrates a top view of a single radiating element, while FIG.6B illustrates a cross section of relevant sections of the antenna atthe location of the radiating element of FIG. 6A, according to anembodiment having two delay lines connected to each patch, similar towhat is shown in FIG. 2; while FIGS. 6C and 6D describe embodiments thathave the variable dielectric layer directly beneath the RF line and thatthe RF line is activated by an AC voltage through a BiasT, that is toprovide a strong impact line as well as two layers for two differentcorporate feeding networks. FIG. 6E illustrates a rectangular patch thatcan be used to operate in two different frequencies, while FIG. 6Fillustrates a standard Bias-T circuit.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment wherein the DC potential forcontrolling the variable dielectric constant material is applied to thedelay line itself, such that no electrodes are needed;

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment with two delay lines connected to asingle patch, such that each delay line may carry a differentpolarization; while FIG. 8A illustrates a variation of the embodimentshown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment wherein the VDC plate includes onlydefined area of VDC material; while FIG. 9A illustrates a variation ofthe embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment wherein no VDC plate is used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the inventive antenna will now be described withreference to the drawings. Different embodiments or their combinationsmay be used for different applications or to achieve different benefits.Depending on the outcome sought to be achieved, different featuresdisclosed herein may be utilized partially or to their fullest, alone orin combination with other features, balancing advantages withrequirements and constraints. Therefore, certain benefits will behighlighted with reference to different embodiments, but are not limitedto the disclosed embodiments. That is, the features disclosed herein arenot limited to the embodiment within which they are described, but maybe “mixed and matched” with other features and incorporated in otherembodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an antenna 100, according to oneembodiment. Generally, the antenna is a multi-layer antenna thatincludes the patch layers, the true time delay layer, the slotted groundlayer and the corporate feed layer, as will be described in more detailsbelow. In some instances, additional layers are added, providingmultiple polarization, wider bandwidth, etc. The various elements of theantenna may be printed or deposited on the insulating substrates.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the antenna in this particular examplecomprises a 4×4 array of radiators 110, although any number of radiatorsin various geometries and arrangements may be used, and a squarearrangement of 4×4 elements is chosen only as one example. In thisexample each radiator 110 is a conductive patch provided (e.g.,deposited, adhered to, or printed) on top of an insulation layer 105 andhas a delay feed line 115 coupled to it, either physically orcapacitively, as will be explained further below. Each delay feed line115 is a conductor that provides the RF signal to its correspondingpatch 110. The RF signal can be manipulated, e.g., delayed, changefrequency, change phase, by controlling a variable dielectric layerpositioned under the delay line. By controlling all of the delay lines,the array can be made to point to different directions, as needed, thusproviding a scanning array.

In FIG. 1 each element is fed from only one feed line. However, asillustrated in FIG. 2, each radiating element 210 can be fed by twoorthogonal feed lines, 215 and 217, for example, each having differentpolarization. The description provided herein is applicable to both andany similar, architectures.

The structure and operation of the antennas shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 canbe better understood from the following description of FIGS. 3A and 3B,with further reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 3A illustrates a top view of asingle radiating element 310, while FIG. 3B illustrates a cross sectionof relevant sections of the antenna at the location of the radiatingelement 310 of FIG. 3A. FIG. 8 provides a top “transparent” view that isapplicable to all of the embodiments described herein, including theembodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thus, in studying any of the embodimentsdisclosed herein, the reader should also refer to FIG. 8 for a betterunderstanding.

A top dielectric spacer 305 is generally in the form of a dielectric(insulating) plate or a dielectric sheet, and may be made of, e.g.,glass, PET, etc. The radiating patch 310 is formed over the spacer by,e.g., adhering a conductive film, sputtering, printing, etc. At eachpatch location, a via is formed in the dielectric spacer 305 and isfilled with conductive material, e.g., copper, to form contact 325,which connects physically and electrically to radiating patch 310. Adelay line 315 is formed on the bottom surface of dielectric spacer 305(or on top surface of upper binder 342), and is connected physically andelectrically to contact 325. That is, there is a continuous DCelectrical connection from the delay line 315 to radiating patch 310,through contact 325. As shown in FIG. 3A, the delay line 315 is ameandering conductive line and may take on any shape so as to havesufficient length to generate the desired delay, thereby causing thedesired phase shift in the RF signal.

The delay in the delay line 315 is controlled by the variable dielectricconstant (VDC) plate 340 having variable dielectric constant material344. While any manner for constructing the VDC plate 340 may be suitablefor use with the embodiments of the antenna, as a shorthand in thespecific embodiments the VDC plate 340 is shown consisting of upperbinder 342, (e.g., glass PET, etc.) variable dielectric constantmaterial 344 (e.g., twisted nematic liquid crystal layer), and bottombinder 346. In other embodiments one or both of the binder layers 342and 344 may be omitted. Alternatively, adhesive such as epoxy or glassbeads may be used instead of the binder layers 342 and/or 344.

In some embodiments, e.g., when using twisted nematic liquid crystallayer, the VDC plate 340 also includes an alignment layer that may bedeposited and/or glued onto the bottom of spacer 305, or be formed onthe upper binder 342. The alignment layer may be a thin layer ofmaterial, such as polyimide-based PVA, that is being rubbed or curedwith UV in order to align the molecules of the LC at the edges ofconfining substrates.

The effective dielectric constant of VDC plate 340 can be controlled byapplying DC potential across the VDC plate 340. For that purpose,electrodes are formed and are connected to controllable voltagepotential. There are various arrangements to form the electrodes, andseveral examples will be shown in the disclosed embodiments. In thearrangement shown in FIG. 3B, two electrodes 343 and 347 andprovided—one on the bottom surface of the upper binder 342 and one onthe upper surface of the bottom binder 346. As one example, electrode347 is shown connected to variable voltage potential 341, whileelectrode 343 is connected to ground. As one alternative, shown inbroken line, electrode 343 may also be connected to a variable potential349. Thus, by changing the output voltage of variable potential 341and/or variable potential 349, one can change the dielectric constant ofthe VDC material in the vicinity of the electrodes 343 and 347, andthereby change the RF signal traveling over delay line 315. Changing theoutput voltage of variable potential 341 and/or variable potential 349can be done using a controller, Ctl, running software that causes thecontroller to output the appropriate control signal to set theappropriate output voltage of variable potential 341 and/or variablepotential 349. Thus, the antenna's performance and characteristics canbe controlled using software—hence software controlled antenna.

At this point it should be clarified that in the subject description theuse of the term ground refers to both the generally acceptable groundpotential, i.e., earth potential, and also to a common or referencepotential, which may be a set potential or a floating potential.Similarly, while in the drawings the symbol for ground is used, it isused as shorthand to signify either an earth or a common potential,interchangeably. Thus, whenever the term ground is used herein, the termcommon or reference potential, which may be set or floating potential,is included therein.

As with all RF antennas, reception and transmission are symmetrical,such that a description of one equally applies to the other. In thisdescription it may be easier to explain transmission, but receptionwould be the same, just in the opposite direction.

In transmission mode the RF signal is applied to the feed patch 360 viaconnector 365 (e.g., a coaxial cable connector). As shown in FIG. 3B,there is no electrical DC connection between the feed patch 360 and thedelay line 315. However, in disclosed embodiments the layers aredesigned such that an RF short is provided between the feed patch 360and delay line 315. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, a back plane conductiveground (or common) 355 is formed on the top surface of back planeinsulator (or dielectric) 350 or the bottom surface of bottom binder346. The back plane conductive ground 355 is generally a layer ofconductor covering the entire area of the antenna array. At each RF feedlocation a window (DC break) 353 is provided in the back planeconductive ground 355. The RF signal travels from the feed patch 360,via the window 353, and is coupled to the delay line 315. The reversehappens during reception. Thus, a DC open and an RF short are formedbetween delay line 315 and feed patch 360.

In one example the back plane insulator 350 is made of a Rogers® (FR-4printed circuit board) and the feed patch 360 may be a conductive lineformed on the Rogers. Rather than using Rogers, a PTFE(Polytetrafluoroethylene or Teflon®) or other low loss material may beused.

To further understand the RF short (also referred to as virtual choke)design of the disclosed embodiments, reference is made to FIG. 8. Oneshould note that similar elements in the drawings have the samereferences, except in a different series, e.g., in FIG. 8 the 8 xxseries is used. Also, FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment with two delaylines connected to a single patch 810, such that each delay line maycarry a different signal, e.g., at different polarization. The followingexplanation is made with respect to one of the delay lines, as the othermay have similar construction.

In FIG. 8 the radiating patch 810 is electrically DC connected to thedelay line 815 by contact 825 (the delay line for the other feed isreferenced as 817). So, in this embodiment the RF signal is transmittedfrom the delay line 815 to the radiating patch 810 directly via thecontact 825. However, no DC connection is made between the feed patch860 and the delay line 815; rather, the RF signal is capacitivelycoupled between the feed patch 860 and the delay line 815. This is donethrough an aperture in the ground plane 850. As shown in FIG. 3B, theVDC plate 340 is positioned below the delay line 315, but in FIG. 8 itis not shown, so as to simplify the drawing for better understanding ofthe RF short feature. The back ground plane 850 is partially representedby the hatch marks, also showing the window (DC break) 853. Thus, in theexample of FIG. 8 the RF path is radiating patch 810, to contact 825, todelay line 815, capacitively through window 850 to feed patch 860.

For efficient coupling of the RF signal, the length of the window 853,indicated as “L”, should be set to about half the wavelength of the RFsignal traveling in the feed patch 860, i.e., λ/2. The width of thewindow, indicated as “W”, should be set to about a tenth of thewavelength, i.e., λ/10. Additionally, for efficient coupling of the RFsignal, the feed patch 860 extends about a quarter wave, λ/4, beyond theedge of the window 853, as indicated by D. Similarly, the terminus end(the end opposite contact 825) of delay line 815 extends a quarter wave,λ/4, beyond the edge of the window 853, as indicated by E. Note thatdistance D is shown longer than distance E, since the RF signaltraveling in feed patch 860 has a longer wavelength than the signaltraveling in delay line 815.

It should be noted that in the disclosure, every reference towavelength, λ, indicates the wavelength traveling in the related medium,as the wavelength may change as it travels in the various media of theantenna according to its design and the DC potential applied to variabledielectric matter within the antenna.

As explained above, in the example of FIG. 8 the RF signal path betweenthe delay line and the radiating patch is via a resistive, i.e.,physical conductive contact. On the other hand, FIG. 8A illustrates avariation wherein the RF signal path between the delay line and theradiating patch is capacitive, i.e., there's no physical conductivecontact between them. As shown in FIG. 8A and its callout, a couplingpatch 810′ is fabricated nest to the radiating patch 810. The contact825 forms physical conductive contact between the delay line 815 andcoupling patch 810′. The coupling of the RF signal between the radiatingpatch 810 and the coupling patch 810′ is capacitive across the shortdielectric space S. The space S may be simply air or filled with otherdielectric material. While in FIG. 8A only delay line 815 is showncapacitively coupled to the radiating patch 810, this is done forillustration only, and it should be appreciated that both delay lines815 and 817 may be capacitively coupled to the radiating patch 810.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment having similar construction tothat of FIG. 3B, except for the arrangement for applying DC potential tothe variable dielectric constant material 444. In FIG. 4, the twoelectrodes 443 and 447 are provided side by side, rather than across thelayer 444. The electrodes 443 and 447 can be formed on the top surfaceof bottom binder 446. Otherwise the structure and operation of theantenna shown in FIG. 4 is similar to that shown in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example designed to provide enhancedbandwidth. The general structure of the antenna of FIG. 5 can beaccording to any of the embodiments provided herein, except that anotherdielectric layer in the form of spacer 514 is provided over theradiating patch 510. A resonant path, 512, is formed on top of thespacer 514. Resonant patch 512 has the same shape as radiating patch510, except that it is larger, i.e., has larger width and larger length,if it is a rectangle, or larger sides if it is a square. The RF signalis coupled between radiating patch 510 and resonant patch 512capacitively across spacer 514. This arrangement provides a largerbandwidth than using just radiating patch 510.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment having two delay linesconnected to each patch, similar to what is shown in FIG. 2. In such anembodiment, each delay line may transmit in different polarization. Abottom dielectric 652 separates the two feed patches 660 and 662, eachcoupling signal to a respective one of the delay lines 615 and 617. Thetwo feed patches 660 and 662 are oriented orthogonally to each other.The signal coupling is done capacitively through a window 653 in theconductive ground 655, as illustrated in the previous examples. In FIG.6B only one window 653 is illustrated, since the other window isprovided in another plane not shown in this cross section. However, thearrangement of two windows can be seen in FIG. 8.

FIG. 6C illustrates another example of two orthogonal feed lines. Inthis particular example one feed line is used for transmission while theother is used for reception. While this embodiment is illustrated inconjunction with radiating patch 610 and resonant patch 612, this is notnecessary and is used only for consistency of illustration with FIG. 6B.In the specific example of FIG. 6C feed patch 660 is provided on thebottom of back plane dielectric 650 and is coupled to a transmissionline via connector 665. The signal from the transmission line 665 iscoupled from feed patch 660 capacitively through the window 653 inconductive ground 655 to the radiating patch 610. A second conductiveground 655′ with window 653′ is provided on the bottom of bottom planedielectric 652. A second bottom plane dielectric 652′ is provided belowthe second conductive ground 655′, and feed patch 662 is provided on thebottom of the second bottom plane dielectric 652′. In this example, feedpatch dielectric 662 is used for reception. In one example radiatingpatch 610 is square, so that the transmission and reception areperformed at the same frequency, but may be at different polarizationand/or phase. According to another example, the radiating patch 610 isrectangle (see FIG. 6E), in which case the transmission and receptionmay be done at different frequencies, which may be at the same anddifferent polarization and/or phase.

FIG. 6D illustrates another example where one feed patch is used fortransmission and the other for reception. However, in FIG. 6D thecontrol of the VDC material is done by feeding the DC potential to thedelay line 615. This can be done, e.g., using a modified Bias-Tarrangement. Specifically, FIG. 6F illustrates a standard Bias-Tcircuit. The RF+DC node corresponds to the delay line 615. The DC nodecorresponds to the output of the variable voltage potential 641. The RFnode corresponds to feed patches 660 and 662. As shown in FIG. 6F, theRF node is coupled to the circuit via capacitor C. However, as explainedherein, the RF signal in the disclosed embodiments is already coupled tothe delay line capacitively, such that capacitor C may be omitted. Thus,by incorporating inductor I into the DC side of the antenna, a modifiedBias-T circuitry is created.

Another variation illustrated in FIG. 6D, but which can be implementedin any of the other embodiments, is the elimination of the binderlayers. As shown in FIG. 6D, the VDC material is sandwiched between thespacer 605 and the back plane dielectric 650 with the conductive ground655. In one example, glass beads (shown in broken line) can beinterspersed within VDC material 644 so as to maintain the properseparation between the spacer 605 and the back plane dielectric 650 withthe conductive ground 655. Of course, glass beads can also be used whenusing the bider layers.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment wherein the DC potential forcontrolling the variable dielectric constant material is applied to thedelay line itself, such that no electrodes are needed. A bias-t may beused to separate the RF and DC signals. That is, the two electrodes,e.g., electrodes 343 and 347, are omitted. Instead, the output ofvariable voltage potential supplier 741 is DC connected directly to thedelay line 715, establishing a DC potential between delay line 715 andback plane conductive ground 755. Thus, delay line has two functions: itaccepts the DC voltage potential to thereby change the dielectricconstant of the VDC material 744, and it capacitively couples RF signalto the feed patches 760 and 762.

As can be understood from the disclosure of the embodiments, variousantennas may be constructed having the common elements comprising: aninsulating spacer; at least one radiating arrangement provided on theinsulating spacer, wherein each radiating arrangement comprises aconductive patch provided on the top surface of the insulating spacer, adelay line provided on the bottom surface of the insulating spacer, anda contact made of conductive material and providing electrical DCconnection between the conductive patch and the delay line via a windowin the insulating spacer; a variable dielectric constant (VDC) plate; aback plane insulator; a back plane conductive ground provided over thetop surface of the back plane insulator; and an RF coupling arrangementfor each of the at least one radiating arrangement, the RF couplingarrangement comprising a window formed in the back plane conductiveground and a conductive RF feed patch provided over the bottom surfaceof the back plane insulator in an overlapping orientation to the window.In some embodiments electrodes are provided in order to control thedielectric constant at selected areas of the VDC plate, while in othersthe delay line is used for this purpose. In some embodiments theconductive patch is used to couple RF signal from the air, while inothers it is used to couple RF energy to another, larger, patch which isused to couple RF signal from the air. The size of the patch isconfigured according to the desired RF wavelength. The RF wavelength canalso be used to optimize the RF coupling by properly sizing the window,the delay line, and the feed patch.

The VDC plate may be segmented into individual pixels of VDC material.An LCD panel of a flat panel screen may be used for the VDC plate. VDCpixels may be grouped according to the area coverage of the electrodesor the delay lines. In other embodiments the VDC material is providedonly in areas controlled by the electrodes or delay line. FIG. 9illustrates an example wherein the VDC plate 940 includes only definedarea of VDC material. VDC area 942 is shown under delay line 915 and VDCarea 944 is shown under delay line 917. Each of VDC areas may be onecontinuous area of VDC material or may be divided into pixels. For easeof production the entire area of VDC plate 940 may include pixels of VDCmaterial. FIG. 9A illustrates capacitive coupling of the delay line 915to the radiating patch 910 through coupling patch 910′, similar to thatshown in FIG. 8A, but otherwise it is the same as shown in FIG. 9.

Features disclosed herein may be implemented to form an antenna evenwhen no change in phase and/or frequency is needed. FIG. 10 illustratesan embodiment wherein no VDC plate is used. In the embodiment of FIG.10, the antenna comprises an insulating substrate 1080 and theconductive patch 1010 is provided on the top surface of the insulatingsubstrate 1080. A ground plane 1055 provided on the bottom surface ofthe insulating substrate 1080, the ground plane comprising an aperture1053 therein. The aperture is registered to be aligned below theconductive patch 1010. A feed line 1060 has its terminative end thereofregistered to be aligned below the aperture 1053, so as to capacitivelytransmit RF signal to the conductive patch 1010 through the aperture1053. A back plane dielectric is provided between the ground plane 1055and the feed line 1060. A connector 1065 is used to transmit/receive RFsignal to/from the feed line 1060.

Various embodiments were described above, wherein each embodiment isdescribed with respect to certain features and elements. However, itshould be understood that features and elements from one embodiment maybe used in conjunction with other features and elements of otherembodiments, and the description is intended to cover suchpossibilities, albeit not all permutations are described explicitly soas to avoid clutter.

Generally, a multi-layer, software controlled antenna is provided. Theantenna comprises a radiating patch over an insulator plate. A delayline is provided on the bottom of the insulator plate and has one endthereof RF coupled to the radiating patch. The electrical coupling maybe by physical conductive contact or by proximity coupling withoutphysical conductive connection therebetween. A variable dielectricconstant (VDC) plate is provided below the delay line. A ground plane isprovided on bottom of VDC plate, the ground plane comprising an aperturetherein, the aperture being registered to be aligned below the radiatingpatch. A feed line having terminative end thereof registered to bealigned below the aperture is provided below the ground plane, so as tocapacitively transmit RF signal to the conductive patch through theaperture. An electrical isolation is provided between the feed line andthe ground plane. For example, a back plane dielectric plate may beprovided between the feed line and the ground plane. In some embodimentsa second feed line is provided, which may coupled RF signal to the delayline through another aperture provided in the ground plane, or through asecond, separate ground plane.

To obtain an enhanced bandwidth, a resonant patch may be provided overthe radiating patch, wherein in some embodiments an insulating spacermay be provided between the radiating patch and the resonant patch. Insome embodiments electrodes are provided in the VDC plate. Theelectrodes are coupled to variable voltage potential source, which maybe connected to a controller. In other embodiments the VDC plate iscontrolled by applying DC potential to the delay line. Applying a DCpotential to the delay line may be implemented using a modified Biat-T,wherein the feed line, ground plate, VDC plate, and delay line form theRF leg of the Bias-T circuitry. The DC leg may be coupled to the delayline through an intermediate inductor (see FIG. 6D).

It should be understood that processes and techniques described hereinare not inherently related to any particular apparatus and may beimplemented by any suitable combination of components. Further, varioustypes of general purpose devices may be used in accordance with theteachings described herein. The present invention has been described inrelation to particular examples, which are intended in all respects tobe illustrative rather than restrictive. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that many different combinations will be suitable forpracticing the present invention.

Moreover, other implementations of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from consideration of the specification andpractice of the invention disclosed herein. Various aspects and/orcomponents of the described embodiments may be used singly or in anycombination. It is intended that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of theinvention being indicated by the following claims.

1. An antenna comprising: an insulating substrate; a plurality ofconductive patches provided on top surface of the insulating substrate;a top insulator provided over the conductive patches; a plurality ofresonator patches provided over the top insulator, each in alignmentwith one of the conductive patches, and each of the resonator patchesbeing larger than the conductive patches; a plurality of delay linesprovided below the insulating substrate, and each coupling RF signal toa corresponding patch of the plurality of conductive patches; a groundplane provided below the delay line, the ground plane comprising aplurality of apertures therein; and, a plurality of feed lines, eachhaving terminus end thereof registered to be aligned below one of theplurality of apertures, so as to capacitively couple RF signal to acorresponding delay line of the plurality of delay lines.
 2. The antennaof claim 1, further comprising a variable dielectric constant (VDC)layer provided between the delay lines and the ground plane.
 3. Theantenna of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of vias, each makingelectrical contact to one of the conductive patches and one of the delaylines.
 4. The antenna of claim 2, wherein two of the plurality of delaylines are connected to each corresponding conductive patch, and areoriented orthogonally to each other.
 5. The antenna of claim 4, whereinthe plurality of feed lines comprises: a plurality of transmission feedlines, each coupling RF signal to one of the two of the plurality ofdelay lines; and, a plurality of reception feed lines, each coupling RFsignal to the other of the two of the plurality of delay lines.
 6. Theantenna of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of coupling patches,each provided in proximity to a corresponding one of the plurality ofconductive patches thereby capacitively coupling RF signal therebetween;and wherein each of the plurality of coupling patches is connected toone of the two of the plurality of delay lines.
 7. The antenna of claim4, wherein one of two of the plurality of delay lines is connected torespective conductive patch via a physical conductive contact and theother of the two of the plurality of delay lines is coupled to theconductive patch via capacitive coupling.
 8. The antenna of claim 1,wherein terminus end of each of the feed lines extends beyond thecorresponding aperture a distance D of about half of wavelength of RFsignal traveling in the feed lines.
 9. The antenna of claim 8, wherein aterminus end of each of the delay lines extends beyond the correspondingaperture a distance E of about half of wavelength of RF signal travelingin the delay lines.
 10. An antenna comprising: an top dielectric; abottom dielectric; a variable dielectric constant (VDC) plate positionedbetween the top dielectric and bottom dielectric; a conductive groundhaving a plurality of apertures; and, a plurality of radiatingarrangements, wherein each of the radiating arrangements comprises: aradiating patch provided on the top dielectric; at least one controlline; two delay lines coupled to the conductive patch orthogonally, oneof the two delay lines being coupled to the radiating patch via aphysical conductive contact and the other of the two delay lines beingcoupled to the conductive patch via capacitive coupling; two feedinglines each coupling RF energy to one of the two delay lines.
 11. Theantenna of claim 10, wherein the capacitive coupling comprises acoupling patch provioded next to the radiating patch.
 12. The antenna ofclaim 10, further comprising a top insulator provided over the radiatingpatches and a plurality of resonating patches provided over the topinsulator.
 13. The antenna of claim 12, wherein each of the resonatingpatches is larger than the radiating patch.
 14. The antenna of claim 10,wherein one of the two feeding lines is a transmission line and theother of the two feeding lines is a reception line.
 15. The antenna ofclaim 14, wherein the radiating patch is rectangular.
 16. An antennacomprising: a variable dielectric constant (VDC) plate having variabledielectric constant material therein; a plurality of radiating patchesprovided over the VDC plate; a plurality of delay lines, each two delaylines of the plurality of delay lines being orthogonally coupled to acorresponding radiating patch; a plurality of phase shift control linesindividually coupled to DC potentials, each of the phase shift contrrollines corresponding to one of the delay lines; a conductive groundplane; and, a plurality of feed lines fomring a corporate feed, each twofeed lines of the plurality of feed lines orthogonally coupling RFenergy to a corresponding radiating patch.
 17. The antenna of claim 16,wherein one of the two delay lines being coupled to the radiating patchvia a physical conductive contact and the other of the two delay linesbeing coupled to the conductive patch via capacitive coupling across adielectric space.
 18. The antenna of claim 16, wherein each of the feedlines being coupled to the radiating patch via one of the delay lines.19. The antenna of claim 16, wherein the corporate feed capacitivelycouples RF energy to each of the delay lines.
 20. The antenna of claim16, further comprising a plurality of resonator patches provided overthe plurality of radiating patches, each of the resonator patches beingin alignment with one of the radiating patches, and each of theresonator patches being larger than the conductive patches.